Soil cultivator



S. H. GARST SOIL CULTIVATOR -Filed Dec. 23, 1918 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented .linie 17, 1924io lTED STATESY STEPHEN E. GARST, OF IVIGLIN7 ILLINGIS.

soIL CULTIVATOR.

Application filed December 23, 1918. Serial No. 268;()0'i7- To all 107mm t Wir/, 'z/ concern.'

Be it known that STEPHEN H. Gzinsr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline. in the county of Roel-z ,island and State of Illinois, has invented cert-ain new and useful ln'iprovenients in Soil Cultivators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in soil surface pulverizers and cultivators and consists of a form of cultivator which in passing over the surface of the soil. produces furrows and ridges between the furrows which are substantially uniform throughout, that is to say, the furrows are uniform in depth and the ridges between them are uniforni in height and are formed throughout of well filled soil.. The soil that is moved out of the furrows is thrown up on the spaces between the furrows so that the surfaces of the soil between the fuirows or the top of the ridges will be higher than before the machine passed over the ground. The piling up of the loose soil from the fui-rows on top of the spaces or ridges between, in addition to making the ridges higher than the surrounding surface of the ground, has a further advantage of providing a deeper furrow so that more surface of the soil is exposed to the sunshine, air and the gases present iny the air. These higher ridges and relatively deep furrows prepare the surface of the soil in the best possible condition for the siibsequent seed bed operation. The machine to bev described, in its operation cultivates the soil and at the same time pulverizes it, and thereby performs two operations at one and the same time. Heretofore there have been provided machines for making furrows and intervening ridges but suchinachines, owing to their form and construction have not had a capacity for producing uniformity in the ridges or uniformity in the depth of the furrows and moreover they depend wholly upon the weight of the machine to cause the penetration of the pulverizer wheels into the ground in making the furrows. lt will. at once be seen that uniformity ink furrows and uniformity in the formation of ridges is impossible of obtainment owing to variations in the soil. Prior machines such as referred to have been made with one or two gangs of pulverizer wheels. one gang arranged in front of the other, these wheels being depended upon alone to make the furrows and l the ridges through the weight of the maverizer wheels is due entirely to the weightl of they machine. It is furthermore an old practice to employ machines in which shovels are arranged in front of ground rollers, the

latter in some instances being provided with ribs or flanges designed-to run in openings made in the surface of the ground by the ,shovels for the purpose of making irrigating ditches or canals, etc` In such cases the sur-` face of the ground is lower than it was before the machine passes over it, which condition'is due to the wheels being .widely spaced apart as well as the shovels. Neither of the beforementioned means are capable of producing the results obtained by the use of the present invention, the object of which is to provide a soil pulverizer or eultivator with a capacity for creating uniform furrows and uniform ridges of well tilled soil as hereinbefore indicated. In obtainingsuch results a special form of pulverizer wheely is einployed as well as a special form of shovel, both being narrow and set closely together in gangs, thc points of the shovels traveling in alignment with the peripheral centers of the wheels. as will hereinafter fully appear from the more particular description to follow in connection with the accompanying drawings.

`Referring to said drawings Vin general terms, Fig. l is a top plan view of the machine: Fig. Qlis a rear elevation thereof;

somewhat enlarged; Figr is a similar View of one of thepulverizer wheels modified in construction as compared with Figa and artl i in section; Fig. 6 is an edgeY View of y one of said pulverizerl wheels;-,Fig. 7 is a detail view of the blank from which is formed the centerrib of the pulverizer wheel as shown in Fig. 5: Fig. 8 illustrates in transverse sectionthe appearance, approximately, of the soil after being acted upon byv vFig. 3 is a side elevation; Fig. 4 is side .elevation of one of the pulverizer wheels los Vfectively without much labor.

and Figs 140 is a detail view of one of the furrow shovels and a part of its resilient supporting arm.

In a detail description of the various features of the invention similar reference characters indicate correspondingparts. The pulverizer wheels as before indicated are arranged in a gang across the machine on a shaft l mounted in suitable bearings 2` which are supported in depending` side frame members 3 which in turn are united to brackets 4 which are rigidly secured to side members 5 of the pulverizer frame. This frame consists of the side bars 5 and cross bar 7. It is well known that the p'ulverizing of soil and its preparation for seeding4 is diiii'cult to be laccomplished ef- In some cases it is so hard that the penetration thereof by means `of theiiiulverizer wheels Yis greatly resisted and the weight of the machineas a whole is depended upon as before intimated. In order to overcome such resistance of the soil and to avoid the ne ce's'sty of depending' on the weight of the me hiiie I `provide an attachment which is arranged in' front of the ganey of pulverizer wheels andthe purpose of which is to fori thefurrows in advance of the pulverizer wheels suitable for the subsequent action of said wheels and noty to depend upon the wheels to perform this work. Referring more particularly to the construction and formation of the pulverizer wheels reifen ence is made to Fig. 6 where 8 designates the two Vtapered peripheral sides of the wheelrand 9 a continuous intervening sharp rib'lwhich extends unbroken throughout the circumference of the wheel and forms the highest penetrating point of its periphery-- The central rib -9-- has a marked tendency7 to wear thinner through a wearingV ofi' of thev sides, this results in making` the pene-r traiting` `rib sharper aswear proceeds and the efficiency of the pulverizer wheels is enhanced and their penetrating power is not diminished byv use. In cross section the out side of the rim of the wheel has a V- sliap'fe'd face'with the edge rib 9 extending beyond anddividing the two tapered sides. The; wheel as shown in Fig. 6 may be made ofpeast' iron with V,the central rib 9 of steel castyiiitee'ral with the rim. The wheels are narrow Vand lie close together'so that the ,required number may be employed in a Following in the furrows they compressthe sides and bottoms of the fure rows andmtliepfurrows are thus left in a sinootlircxorid tioiipwith the clods or lumps of earth pulvrined. The'edge ribs 9 provide t rco ntiiiuous rsurface which engages the fiirrw at the center aiidrinsures uniform action. of the of wheels throughout theiiiitravelthiioiigh the urrows. vThey act to effectively split any clods lying iii the paths thereof and by extending into the firm soil the ribs prevent any slipping or sliding of the wheels. The furrows are prepared for this action of the wheels by one or two gangs of shovels which are mounted in the front of the wheels depending upon the condition of the soil. AS shown in Fig.` l() the shovels l0 are pointed and each is aejustably mounted on a resilient supporting arm ll. In soil that is not over hard cr packed a single gang of shovels in front of 'the of pulverizer wheels is sufiicient. The shovels of this gang are mounted so that the pointed edges thereof travel in alignment with the Vedged ribs 9 of the pulverizer wheels, and the furrows made thereby through which rthe wheels travel in Contact with the sides and bottoms are uniform throughout. rThe action of the shovels or spring' teeth as they Vmight be called, is to level the hunimocks and lill up the holes and tnrow the soil onto the spaces between the furrows. F or example. the shovels move out of the furrows sidewise enough soil to till the .Flat or more or less uneven spaces Yietween the fi'irrows and thus 'fur- .'sh sul'licieiu amount of soil to 'torm a ridge where the ground otherwise would be a low flat and uneven surface that was not cuitivztted. The slang of narrow shovels and the relatively narrow wheels aligned therewith are placed closely together and perform the work of cultivatine` the soil and pulverizing it. rlhe soil which is moved out of the furrows by the shovels is packed and pulverized on the sides as the wheels parsv over it. in performing this two-fold' we it not only is the soil more perfectly prepared for seeding but the labor is greatly cui-tailed. For example, the under clods are crushed while in soft condition and the soil is packed at once before it has time to 'di-v out and become hard. The. sides of the ridges and the bottoms of the furrows are iointlv compressed bv the il-shaped form the wheels thereby leaving well foi-ined ridges with smooth sides and a loose center. The surface of the ridge prepared in this manner will till more or less with fine cracl-:s' after a shower of rain and eX- posure to sunshine and will not be beaten down and baked into a hard crust as would be the case were the spaces between the furrows flat or made into hard pressed ridges. rlhe line cracks in a comparatively soft ridge serve to ventilate the soil in the ridge and cause it to dry out in a mellow condition. The ridges act as good conductors of heat and will be penetrated to full depth by the sun rays5 this condition of the soil will remain vuntil it is seeded` Y soil after it has been acted upon bythe shovels and pulverizer wheels reference is of cultivatir the soil and pulverizingg More particularly describing theV made to Figs. 8 and 9 ofthe drawings. As it appears in Fig. 8 the shovels passing through the soil trom the turrows a and ridges Z) in ordinary soil where a single gang" of shovels meet the requirement. The lfiirrows and ridges made by the shovels would approximately appear as there shown. the top fiat lines of the ridges representiiipy the surface line oi the tield before the shovels have torined the furrows. lt is to be understood of course that the surface o'l the 'lui'rows might not be as smooth as there shown under all conditions ot' soil but it would be approximately so. c represeiits loose soiy that has been thrown up on the Hat spaces between the furrows Formiup; the ridgges by the shovels, andthe bottoni ot' the turrows would likewise contain more or less loose soil rZ, depending more or less on the character ot the soil.y Fig, 8 represents a 'fair approximation of the' appearance ot the `ground after the shovels have passed therethrough. ittici* the puh verizer wheels pass through and ymake contact with the bottoni and sides of the turrows, those parts will be rendered more sharp and smooth and the tops of the ridges will be rendered slightly rounded more or less :is at c. Fig. 9, thus producing a sharp clean tui-row which is well compressed on the sides and bottom but not pressed down too hard on the top. The result is that the ridges are not so compact as to become crust covered and to thus shutoff absorbtion and ventilation, and Amoreover the soil is more uniformly prepared and .is in an ideal condition for seedingt The machine does not depend upon its weight 'for penetration ot the shovels or pulverizer wheels therefore there is uni formity in the turrows and ridges. The shovels enter the soil and prepare the furrows and ridges for the wheels. The resilient supporting arms l1 oit' the shovels are curved in the direction ot' the wheels. lith soil that is well packed or ground that is hard two gangs or shovels may be arranged in front of the wheels on rock shafts 12 and 13 which are provided with end bearings 14e and inner bearings "l5, the inner bearings being attached to the underside of the draft-pole 1 6. The 'front or toreniost gang of shovels are arranged trom eight to ten inches ahead oit the rear so that the first gang will split the centers oi the second gang oit shovels. rl"lie points ogtthe shovels of the rear gang' travel in alignment with the peripheral centers ot the wheels. The front gano ot shovels operate between the shovels ot the rear gang, therefore all the soil will be moved. For example, assumingr that the machine was being' operated in well packed or hard ground, the single gang of shovels would make a series of furrows and spaces, the soil in the spaces being not' cultivated.

The trontor additional gang; ofsliovels be- .ing` set midway` between the shovels of the rear will open'up a series of furrows aud ridges, the rridges being directly in liront ot.' the shovels ot the rear gang.y The shovels oit the rear gang will split the ridges made by those ot the front gang thereby lillinpv up the turrows made by the liront gane* ot shovels and will also pile up a rii'lgje oit' loose soil between the shovels ot the rear gang sul'istantially as it only one gang of shovels were used. By this means it will be seen that the base of the ridge 'formed by the shovels of the rear gang and the wheels will have been inverted and culn tivated. in other words the entire surface ot' the soil will be acted upon by the shovels and thoroughly cultivated and the ridges willV be -formed throughout ot well tilled soil. Both gangs of shovels are elerated and let down through the operation ot' a lever 17 to which ythe rock shafts are connected by links 18,19, 2O and 2l. Figs. 5 and 7 illustrate a modification in the structure ot the pulverizer wheels. nithis torni the central rib 22 is a separate piece and. occupies the sanieposition asrib 9 and is of the same depth throughout the circumference of the wheel. Itis made trom a steel bar rolled to provide the proper penetrating edge. A series of notches 23 is eut in the inner edge of said bar as shown the blank.` Fig. 7. These notches enable tje bar kto be bent in circular form without buckling;V and when thus bent `the outer edges ot the notches will close up and will be concealed by being embodied Ain the hub ot the castinga greater extent than the depth of the notches. The notches 23 will :lill with the melted iron forming a bond between tlie steel ring,y and the face of the wheel as shown in Fig. 5.

Having described niyinvention I claim:

yl. In a machine of the characterdescribed, a series of pulverizer wheels mounted .tor rotation about a common axis and having their adjacent sides arranged in close proximity one to the other, each of said wheels havingr inclined peripheral walls convergingv radially, and having, a rib provjee-ting` from the outer edges of said inclined walls and provided with a continuous cli-cumterentialr cutting edge, the sides ot said rib being` arranged at angles to the respective inclined peripheral walls of said wheel, a. gang of shovels mounted in advance ot said wheels. each of said shovels beine arranged in line with the space between two otE said wheels, a. second gang of shovels arranged between the first gang of shovels and said wheels. and each shovel of izo n said second gang being arranged in line with the cutting edge of one of said Wheels, so

ythat the shovels of said second gang rwill open turrows for the respective Wheels becumlerential cutting edge, the sides ot' said I rib being arranged at angles to the respective inclined peripheral walls of said Wheel, a gang of shovels in advance of said wheels and so arranged relatively thereto that said wheels will iollow in the 'furrows opened by the respective shovels and the inclined peripheral walls oi' said Wheels will pack the soil at the sides of said iiurrows, the circumferential rib will crush the clods and loosen the soil at the bottom oi said furrows` and kthe inclined walls orf adjacent wheels will form uniform crowns on the ridges between adjacent furrows, and means arranged in advance of said gang of shovels to loosen the soil between the furj rows to be opened by said shovels.

el.. In a machine of the character described, a gang ot furrow opening devices spaced relatively short distances apart, a second gang of furrow opening devices arranged in the rear of the first gang, the

devices of said second gang being arranged to form furrows in the spaces between the liurrows formed by the devices of.' the first gang and to form the soil displaced from the last mentioned furrows into ridges between said last mentioned furrows, and a gang of wheels arranged to travel in the respective last mentioned furrows, each of said wheels having outwardly 'converging peripheral walls arranged to compress the sides of said ridges and to crush the clods in said furrows.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

STEPHEN H. GARST. Vitnesses z JosnrinNn B. GrAJasT7 BARBARA E. GARST. 

